1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a data processing system and, more particularly, to a data processing system for a supply chain. Still yet more particularly, the present invention relates to a computer implemented method, an apparatus, and computer usable program product for containing a defective product across a supply chain.
2. Description of the Related Art
Due to outsourcing and globalization, the end products of a growing number of industries include components and assemblies that are built across the globe by multiple suppliers. The situation is particularly applicable in the computer industry where end products may include many thousands of parts assembled by a tiered hierarchy of suppliers.
Problems often arise when defective components pass from one level to another in the supply chain. The situation can sometimes be further exacerbated when the defective component reaches the final system integrator. When an issue is discovered, an attempt to contain a product across multiple suppliers is a time consuming, tedious task. The problem is further complicated since each supplier may provide only a portion of information about the serial numbers that are exposed and include defective parts. When a problem is identified, real-time containment across the supply chain is important. Without timely, robust containment and control of the affected product, defective products will be shipped to customers, thereby driving up warranty costs and directly impacting availability and customer satisfaction.
Several known solutions exist to provide containment across a supply chain. One known solution is manual notification to each supplier affected by the exposed parts. The notification typically results in each supplier invoking manual containment methods. However, this solution is inherently impractical and non-responsive, usually resulting in suspect parts being sent further down the supply chain. Furthermore, this solution depends on each supplier in the supply chain communicating to the next supplier in the supply chain, which often results in suppliers failing to communicate problems to each other.
Another solution is to have the final integrator supplier be the only containment implementer. Thus, containment is only performed by the final integrator supplier and no other supplier upstream of the integrator. However, this solution results in the final integrator supplier bearing the cost of reworking and returning a defective product. Furthermore, the additional time to rework and return the defective product usually results in delayed customer orders.